mayoutze Posted August 25, 2010 Report Share Posted August 25, 2010 Hi, I designed a few specific and generic holders based on the french cleat system. For those who are interested I attached the sketchup plan, please not that all dimensions are tool specific and should be adjusted Also, the chisel rack was designed by:http://www.popularwoodworking.com/article/Portable_Chisel_Rack1/Cleat.skp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewoodwhisperer Posted August 25, 2010 Report Share Posted August 25, 2010 Nice work. You should think about uploading that to the SketchUp Library here on the forum. I think lots of folks would get some use out of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelWisniewski Posted April 8, 2011 Report Share Posted April 8, 2011 Thanks for the ideas. I'm thinking about going this route in my garage and wondered if anybody uses it for hanging rakes, shovels, brooms, torque wrenches, etc. Does it work well for you? Also, has anybody had an issue where something fell off? I'm sure there's some point where if you make it top-heavy, it will pull off the wall. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Posted April 9, 2011 Report Share Posted April 9, 2011 I use a French Cleat throughout the shop. This is how I have my clamps. Works very well and stores a lot in a small space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sw1 Posted April 9, 2011 Report Share Posted April 9, 2011 I use a French Cleat throughout the shop. This is how I have my clamps. Works very well and stores a lot in a small space. I am re doing my clamp rack to fit more clamps, and I have the Jet's also. How many can you fit sideways like that? I did the math and at 4 I did not save any space, but it looks like you have 6. If that is the case then I can max my space out better. Oh and buy more clamps!!!! Shawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Posted April 9, 2011 Report Share Posted April 9, 2011 Shawn, With this configuration, I can fit 6/7 (comfortably 6). But, you could make the throat deeper and come down the wall further for more clamps per unit. 6 just happened to be what I built. I have a BS blade box on the wall and many other hangers. They aren't hard to make or design. Let me know if you'd like more information on what I've done and I can post photos. Alas, I SUCK at SketchUp, so nothing is designed in there, or on paper for that matter. As I said, they are quite simple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmac Posted April 9, 2011 Report Share Posted April 9, 2011 @Michael: No problem hanging shovels and rakes and brooms using a French cleat system. @mayoutze: Nice looking holders in your sketchup file. I do have a suggestion, though. I have found that my holders are a lot more stable if they include a part below the cleat that bears against the wall. The picture above shows what I mean. @Everyone: If you're going to be making a whole bunch of holders, start by making one or more long "blanks" as shown here. Then when it's time to make a holder, just whack off a piece of the blank as long as you need and you'll be halfway done. -- Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Posted April 9, 2011 Report Share Posted April 9, 2011 @Michael: No problem hanging shovels and rakes and brooms using a French cleat system. @mayoutze: Nice looking holders in your sketchup file. I do have a suggestion, though. I have found that my holders are a lot more stable if they include a part below the cleat that bears against the wall. The picture above shows what I mean. @Everyone: If you're going to be making a whole bunch of holders, start by making one or more long "blanks" as shown here. Then when it's time to make a holder, just whack off a piece of the blank as long as you need and you'll be halfway done. -- Russ Russ, every time I see more of your painted shop I get the urge to go buy a bunch of colors and paint mine! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelWisniewski Posted April 10, 2011 Report Share Posted April 10, 2011 @Michael: No problem hanging shovels and rakes and brooms using a French cleat system. Thanks for the pics. Gives me an idea of exactly what I want to do. I just bought a few pieces of 1x4 so hopefully I can get started on this tomorrow. This seems kind of like a fun project to do between major ones. Plus, it can give you practice on building shelves and other gadgets. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Posted April 10, 2011 Report Share Posted April 10, 2011 Thanks for the pics. Gives me an idea of exactly what I want to do. I just bought a few pieces of 1x4 so hopefully I can get started on this tomorrow. This seems kind of like a fun project to do between major ones. Plus, it can give you practice on building shelves and other gadgets. Thanks! Michael, as you can see in my photos, these are very utilitarian. Pocket screws and ply. The don't take any time at all. When I need to hang something I just whip one together from ply scraps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelWisniewski Posted April 10, 2011 Report Share Posted April 10, 2011 Michael, as you can see in my photos, these are very utilitarian. Pocket screws and ply. The don't take any time at all. When I need to hang something I just whip one together from ply scraps. For the french cleat, did you use a 1x4 and cut it at a 45 degree? Have you ever had an issue of it falling off? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Posted April 10, 2011 Report Share Posted April 10, 2011 For the french cleat, did you use a 1x4 and cut it at a 45 degree? Have you ever had an issue of it falling off? Michael, I use 3/4" ply and yes the cut is 45*. I usually use a block plane to take a little off the point of the bevel, so it seats better. As far as anything falling off...no. But as Russ wrote, having the hanger go further down the wall does add stability. My drafting table and computer desk are both on French cleats, also. I have also screwed those hangers to the wall for additional support. I really dislike having any place that I can't easily clean, so either a piece come into full contact with the floor or not at all. The exception is my Craftsman tool chest, for which I will eventually build a base for. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmac Posted April 10, 2011 Report Share Posted April 10, 2011 For the french cleat, did you use a 1x4 and cut it at a 45 degree? Have you ever had an issue of it falling off? 3/4" plywood here, also with a 45 degree bevel and never any problems with the holders falling off the cleats. Same as Vic (only painted ). -- Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelWisniewski Posted April 11, 2011 Report Share Posted April 11, 2011 Thanks all for the information again! I really like not having anything on the floor either because it makes it so much easier to clean. I had some long wire shelves in my old garage, but I found that by using them, it kind of just let things pile up and not really a particular 'spot' for stuff. I just moved into my new house a few months ago, and I'm going to have to start building something to keep things off the floor. I love the idea of the french cleat because you can hook them or move them wherever. One last question... You mentioned you made the cleat out of 3/4" plywood. How wide did you cut it? It looks like it might be 4". I'd rather learn from somebody that already went through this than figure out I made it too thin. Thanks! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmac Posted April 11, 2011 Report Share Posted April 11, 2011 When I made mine, I was trying to use my material efficiently. So I ripped eight 5-7/8" wide strips from a normal 48" plywood panel. (That's 6" minus 1/8" for the saw kerf.) Then I split each one of those down the middle on a 45 degree bevel. That made the cleats just under 3-1/4" wide on the wide side away from the wall, and gave me 64 lineal feet of cleat stock from each sheet of plywood. Here are some plans from a guy who just made his 3" wide: http://benchmark.20m.com/plans/FrenchCleat.pdf I'd say anything in that neighborhood would be fine if you can screw them to the wall every 16". If your studs are on 24" centers, then you might think about making the cleats a little wider. -- Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelWisniewski Posted April 12, 2011 Report Share Posted April 12, 2011 Thanks Russ for the information. It was very helpful and I'll use it when I make mine. Thanks again! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdkidaho Posted April 12, 2011 Report Share Posted April 12, 2011 That is so cool! I've never seen that - I'm glad I dropped into this thread - I'll definitely be incorporating that into my shop as I get it set up! Thanks guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lighthearted Posted April 13, 2011 Report Share Posted April 13, 2011 Thanks for the post! I have french cleats up in the shop and I love them--especially the size you have in the sketchup drawing. I may have to steal a couple of those! The nice thing about them is I feel like I don't have to commit to where every tool goes--I can rearrange as my shop evolves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texfire Posted April 24, 2011 Report Share Posted April 24, 2011 I'm going to go with cleats when I get siding on the 8' walls in my shop in the next couple of weeks. Was thinking of at least two cleats per wall, one towards the top, and one more close to center. Is there any secret to figuring out what height to hang them at? Perhaps two at a sub counter height for storage under there, then two above counter height for hanging cabinets? How did ya'll determine what height to hang your at? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Posted April 24, 2011 Report Share Posted April 24, 2011 I'm going to go with cleats when I get siding on the 8' walls in my shop in the next couple of weeks. Was thinking of at least two cleats per wall, one towards the top, and one more close to center. Is there any secret to figuring out what height to hang them at? Perhaps two at a sub counter height for storage under there, then two above counter height for hanging cabinets? How did ya'll determine what height to hang your at? The beauty of using French cleats is you hang them however you need them. So, look at what you're storing and install them accordingly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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